Lil Crazed Tells Us His About His Steps To Success In Music And How To Utilize Social Media Today!

Lil Crazed discovered his passion for music at the age of fourteen by writing poems and singing them over the beats of his favorite artists and musical influences. He would record those tracks in his home and sell the CD’s to friends and fans across his home state of Minnesota. After receiving a positive vibe regarding his musical ability he went straight to the internet to gain a larger fan base. As a popular Asian American icon in today’s pop culture; Lil Crazed shares with us his knowledge with WWS Magazine.

WWS: What does “Lil Crazed” mean? How did you get that name?
LC: The name just came to me when I was a kid and felt the need for a rap name. I was always a little dude so I threw the “Lil” in and the name “Crazed” just came to me because I always wanted to be the latest craze, the current trend that people talk about and follow. I craved attention and wanted to make history with my music and that’s the reason for the past tense of the name. It’s kinda like history… in the making.

Tell us how you started rapping and how you developed yourself in the game.
I wrote my first poem after the 9/11 terrorist attacks took place. I was 13. The poem was read across the country in churches, newspapers, radio, and even on national television’s “Good Morning America.” After receiving such a great response, I developed a passion in rhythm and poetry. I had a friend ask me, “Why don’t you just throw a beat behind one of your poems?” I was always a fan of Rap and Hip Hop so I tried that and struggled at first trying to find the route I wanted to take in music.  After a few years, I started to get noticed and gain fans through the internet. I took to MySpace and received very high rankings on their charts. That lead to YouTube and now I’m here.

Tell us about your childhood and where you grew up? What was it like before all the music?
I was a very athletic kid. I loved playing sports whenever I had the chance. I grew up with my grandparents and aunt for a good chunk of my younger years because my parents were really young and had my 2 younger brothers to take care of as well. My grandparents and aunt offered to help and be my guardians for a few years. They were your typical Asian guardians who expected good grades so they pushed me to study hard. I always got good grades and they were always proud of my accomplishments. Once I reached Junior High, I realized I didn’t have much of a social life because I was always staying in and studying. I moved back in with my parents and my brothers and began my social life. If it weren’t for my grandparents and aunt pushing me in my studies, I don’t think I’d have the work ethic that I do now.

How is the music scene in Minnesota compared to every other city you’ve been in?
It’s very competitive. Not a lot of artists support each other because everyone wants to be that break-out star coming from the state and putting Minnesota back on the map. Although, as of recently, I’ve been getting a lot more support from Minnesota artists than I used to.

From your life as Lil Crazed, what was the hardest part about this business?
Being Asian and convincing people to take me seriously. It’s a predominantly black genre of music and I’m still trying to break the stereotypes.

What are some of the best ways to grow on social networks such as Youtube and Facebook?
Network, network, network, and promote. When you do collaborations with other artists, you have the potential to gain their fans as well. Also, once you got the cosign from another artist, people (their fans or other artists they’ve worked with) will most likely check you out. Promoting your YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter page on everything you do is vital to your growth in your career. The internet is a big place and people can find you simply through one video but if you don’t have your social network contacts within that video description, they’ll have to do a more extensive research to find you. People on the internet are lazy. It has to fall right into their lap in order for them to be interested. So if you have your social network contacts on everything you do, it’ll be right in their sight and all they have to do is click.

With all the new technology coming out and so many resources of promotion, what do you believe will be the next biggest vehicle?
To be honest, I don’t see YouTube going anywhere. YouTube is going to remain the biggest vehicle because it’s free and easy to use. You can find almost anything on YouTube.

As an independent artist, what are some of the key ingredients you need in order to be successful independently?
The opposite of independence. You need what I like to call the 3 F’s: family, friends, and fans. You need their support in order to gain success.

What advice do you have for other Hip Hop artists out there today?
Whenever I’m asked this question, I always tell people about the saying I wrote as my senior quote in high school. “Don’t follow your dreams, lead them.” What that means is take initiative in your goals. Don’t wait for something big to happen, make something big happen.

What would you like to say to fans and readers right now?
Thank you for all your continuous support! It’s been such an amazing journey so far. I’ve been able to travel across the world and do shows. I’ve met tons of fans and supporters and it still amazes me that all of this started as a dream.

Where can people find you online?

http://www.LilCrazed.com
http://www.YouTube.com/LilCrazed
http://www.YouTube.com/ACrazedLifestyle
http://www.Facebook.com/LilCrazedKiD
http://www.Twitter.com/LilCrazedKiD